Marguerite's Struggle
by leener
Summary: The story hasn't changed, just fixed some mistakes that were bugging me. Set in Season One just after the episode Nectar. While out exploring, Marguerite and Challenger run into trouble.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, I'm just borrowing for this story. It's all for fun. Enjoy!

Marguerite's Struggle

Chapter 1

Another day began in the tree house with plans being made for the day. Everyone was willing to do more than their fair share, well almost everyone.

"Marguerite, you and I must go because Arthur is still recovering from that bee sting and Veronica is staying behind to take care of him. And Roxton and Malone are going to trade for supplies at a nearby village. Besides, I need your knowledge of gemology on this excursion. I'm looking for some plants and a certain mineral that is vital in my newest experiment."

"Come on, Challenger! The last thing I want to do is go traipsing about in the jungle looking at bloody rocks all day! If you want those plants and rocks, you can go by yourself!" Marguerite shouted as she turned and stomped off.

Roxton stopped polishing his guns and made his way over to the fuming heiress with a stern look on his face and finger pointing. "Now listen here, Marguerite. We are not sending Challenger out into the jungle alone for two days by himself. You are going to go with him. Those are the plans for today and that's FINAL! No more arguments! I suggest you stop complaining because it won't do you any good and use your time to get ready. After all, you have a long journey ahead of you."

Malone finished packing his bag and decided to take his turn at playing peacekeeper. "Besides Marguerite, someone needs to watch Challenger's back, right? You don't want to kill our best chance of getting off the plateau do you?" Malone asked. He figured that appealing to her strong desire to get off the plateau would get her to go along without much of an argument.

Veronica stepped out of the kitchen and laughed. "You want Marguerite to watch Challenger's back? You might as well feed him to the raptors now. Marguerite doesn't look out for anyone but herself." Obviously Veronica had not forgotten the incident when Marguerite bartered her to Jacoba for a way off the plateau.

Summerlee, who was still tired and recovering from his nearly fatal experience, made his way over to Marguerite. He had grown particularly fond of the cunning heiress while she was nursing him back to health. She was very comforting to him when he was very near death. He would never forget how kind she was to him. If it wasn't for her care, he probably wouldn't have lasted long enough for the others to get the cure for him. Not to mention her sacrifice of her underwear for Challenger's electric fence and her standing guard and protecting him while he built it. If that fence hadn't gotten built and he didn't die from the bee sting, the apemen would have killed him. He appreciated that she let him see her caring and maternal side. Marguerite was truly one of the most complex and remarkable women he had ever met. Too bad he was the only one who noticed and appreciated her and he was more than willing to defend her character to his other housemates. "Now hold on a second, Veronica. You know Marguerite would never turn her back on Challenger or any other member of this expedition. I think you are all being rather unfair to her."

Marguerite looked into Summerlee's eyes and saw a look of tenderness and appreciation. She was truly touched that he had that much faith in her but she wouldn't let anyone else know how much their opinions truly mattered to her. Instead, she gave him the faintest smile and a slight nod before she quickly made sure he didn't start overexerting himself now that he was cured. "Now hold it right there, Arthur. You are still recovering and you need to be resting. Sit back down and relax or I'll drag you back to bed myself."

Seeing the look of determination on her face, Summerlee relented and let her help him back to his seat. "I wouldn't dream of worrying you, my dear."

Marguerite dreaded to disappoint Summerlee after he had just defended her, so she decided to give in, just this once, and to go with Challenger. "Fine, I'll accompany you on this little excursion of yours, George. But only because I need you to get us off of this Godforsaken plateau. I can't have you running off and getting devoured by a T-Rex. Besides, that would be a complete waste of all the money I spent funding this expedition" Marguerite replied with a huff.

Roxton smiled and stepped into the elevator and waited for Malone. "Driven by self-preservation and a love of money. I wouldn't expect anything less of you Marguerite."

Marguerite returned the smile and replied sarcastically, "I wouldn't want to disappoint you, Lord Roxton."

Malone stepped into the elevator and as it began its descent, Roxton gave out some last second advice. "Watch out for each other out there, you two. Be careful. The same goes for you, Veronica. The electric fence is still in the experimental stage." As the elevator was slipping out of view, Roxton cried, "See you tomorrow!" and Malone, with the sweetest smile plastered on his face, said goodbye to Veronica.

Veronica smiled and walked back into the kitchen to make some tea for Summerlee leaving Challenger and Marguerite to prepare for their own journey.

"Come along, Marguerite. We better set out now; we have a lot of ground to cover in two days. I hope to be back tomorrow afternoon." Challenger eagerly grabbed his pack and rifle and headed toward the elevator.

Marguerite picked up her own pack and hat and somberly got on the elevator. "Just exactly where are we going Challenger?"

The elevator stopped and the two explorers stepped out and began their long trek through the jungle. "Well, Marguerite, we are heading towards the mountains bordering the clearing on the west side of the plateau. There are some plants there I want to add to the medicine cabinet along with that mineral I need your expertise to find. You see, I need it to..."

"I don't need an explanation, Challenger. However, it's nice to know that my vast knowledge of gemology is finally being appreciated around here" Marguerite replied with a grin and a slight hint of annoyance.

"Indeed. This mineral is vital in a chemical reaction I am trying to produce in my latest experiment. If we can find it and my experiment is successful, I may be able to get us off the plateau!"

Marguerite abruptly stopped walking and turned around to face Challenger with a heightened interest in the conversation. "Really? You really think you can get us out of here?! Well, don't just stand there, let's get going! Those mountains aren't getting any closer!" With one of the biggest smiles on her face, Marguerite set a fast pace, practically running ahead of Challenger. "Come on George! Keep up!"

"I'm right behind you, Marguerite. The mountains will still be there when---AAAAAHH!!"

Marguerite stopped and turned and was shocked with the sight before her eyes. She shouted "Challenger!" and took off running.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: No, none of these characters are mine. I'm only borrowing. Really, I promise.

"Marguerite's Struggle"

Chapter 2

While the two explorers were hiking through the jungle, a pair of raptors heard the raised voices of the explorers and followed them. Having picked up their scent, they set out stalking their prey with anticipation of a big and tasty meal.

While Challenger was running to catch up, one of the raptors burst onto the trail and began mauling Challenger. Without much thought, he let out a loud scream as he collapsed to the ground helpless against the long claws that were ripping into his chest.

By the time Marguerite heard Challenger's scream and turned around, the raptor had already seriously injured him. She quickly whipped out her pistol and shot the raptor and ran over to the professor screaming his name. As she was running over to the him, the second raptor leapt out behind Marguerite and ripped into the flesh of her back and thigh. Without hesitating and ignoring the shooting pain coursing through her body, Marguerite quickly spun and shot the raptor twice before making her way over to the now unconscious Challenger.

Marguerite dropped down on her knees beside the bleeding professor and tried to wake him up. "Challenger? George?" She did not have any success. The sight before Marguerite's eyes was gruesome and not encouraging. Challenger had deep gashes covering his chest that were heavily gushing blood. His face had already lost all color due to the massive blood loss. On top of his serious injuries, he also had an immense welt forming and a bleeding cut on his head that had slowed down to a trickle which he received when he fell during the raptor attack. Even if Marguerite managed to stop the bleeding, Challenger had a serious concussion and would not be regaining consciousness any time soon. Marguerite was on her own, almost a whole day's walk from the Treehouse, with a dying Challenger and with enough blood pumping out of both of them to attract every predator on the entire plateau. She had a lot of work to do and very little time to do it in.

Marguerite quickly ripped the pack off her back forgetting she was also injured and cursed at her momentary weakness. She pulled out the medical supplies and tried to stop Challenger's bleeding and bandage his wounds. "Damn it! Where's Summerlee when you need him?! I'm not a bloody doctor! It's just like a man to desert you just when you need him! Come on, FOCUS! George, you are going to owe me BIG if I ever get us out of here!" She quickly went back to cleaning his wounds.

After a half-hour, Marguerite managed to temporarily stop the bleeding and made a crude bandage after applying all of Veronica's anti-infection poultice to his wounds. She then turned her attention to herself. It was impossible to reach her own wounds since they were on the back of her body so she had to think fast. She wouldn't be much help to Challenger if she bled to death. She took off her blouse and ripped it in half. She wrapped the first part around her leg as a tourniquet/bandage and used the second half to wrap around her waist as a makeshift bandage for her back. "Guess this will have to do for now." She then took her jacket, along with some long, strong branches and some vines and made a stretcher. "Honestly, Challenger! First my underwear, now my blouse and jacket! How much more of my clothes am I going to have to sacrifice for you?! I don't think you'll be satisfied until you have every since article of clothing I own and am running around this bloody jungle naked!"

After several unsuccessful attempts, she managed to get the heavy Challenger onto the stretcher without ripping open his wounds and dragged him a mile to the nearest stream. The mile journey took the rest of the afternoon and was hard on the struggling heiress. With each step she took, she could feel the blood seeping out of her and getting soaked up by her clothes.

When they arrived at the stream, Marguerite set up camp and gave Challenger some water to keep him hydrated. He was still sleeping, so that left her to stand guard. The night passed by slowly without any danger. After what seemed like an eternity, morning followed. Marguerite jumped into the stream, clothes and all, to clean out her wounds and wash off some of the blood so the predators wouldn't pick up its scent. Now already exhausted, Marguerite picked up the stretcher carrying the barely living Challenger and set out on the long journey back to the Treehouse.

To keep herself from losing consciousness, Marguerite kept talking to herself. "They will be expecting us back today and... when we don't come back, they will come looking for us. Well for you at least, Challenger. Hopefully, I can get us close enough to the Treehouse today so they won't have to search far for us." She glanced over her shoulder at Challenger with a worried look on her face. "I don't know how much longer those wounds of yours are going to stay clean before they get infected out here. I don't have any more of that poultice. I might as well stop and clean and re-bandage them." Marguerite didn't have a lot of water left in her canteen. Even though she had filled both of them up at the stream, she had used it to keep Challenger's wounds clean and ward off infection. Once she finished the all the remaining water and tending to Challenger, she picked up the stretcher and set out again. "Just keep fighting, George. I'll get us to the Treehouse."

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Back at the Treehouse, Roxton and Malone returned early from their trip to find Veronica and Summerlee in the kitchen but no Challenger and Marguerite.

Roxton shot a worried look at Veronica. "They're not back yet?"

Veronica shook her head. "They're not supposed to be back until this afternoon. But, in case you have forgotten, Marguerite went on this little excursion. You know how much she hates long hikes and any hard work. She probably nagged Challenger to stop and rest several times and are just running a little late. They'll be back soon."

Roxton mustered a smile to cover up how worried he really was. He couldn't fight off the feeling that something was wrong. He learned a long time ago that he shouldn't doubt his instincts. Inwardly, he promised himself that if they weren't back in the next hour, that he would personally go out and look for them. He didn't want anyone to get hurt on his watch.

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"I'm sorry Challenger, but I have to rest." Marguerite managed to get them another two miles closer to the Treehouse since that morning. It was now close to sunset and the two injured explorers were still a long ways away from their destination. The Treehouse was still another three miles away.

Marguerite checked Challenger's wounds again and checked to see if he had a developed a fever. She sighed in relief and said, "You are a very lucky man. I just hope this luck of yours holds until you get back to the Treehouse. You'll be back in your lab in no time. But I'm afraid you're not going to be able to perform that new experiment of yours George, we never got your mineral."

Marguerite was looking much worse. Her crude bandages were no longer useful seeing as camisole and trousers were practically dripping with her blood. Her muscles were aching; the little five minute breaks she took every couple of hours were not enough for her to rest. Her face and chest were dripping with sweat and her face was flushed. Giving all her attention to Challenger, her ignored wounds were growing worse by the minute. Marguerite had already developed a fever and an infection had begun to set into her wounds. Her body was completely exhausted. She hadn't had any food since breakfast at the Treehouse and she had used all their water on Challenger's wounds. With the crippling effects of her massive blood loss, infection, and dehydration, the only thing keeping her alive and going was sheer determination and adrenalin.

"Don't....fret, my dear. There's always tomorrow." Realizing she was talking aloud and Challenger had regained consciousness long enough to hear her, she quickly turned her attention to him to see he had lost consciousness again.

"Challenger?! Challenger?! Damn it! Don't you give up on me now! I haven't dragged you this far for you to die on me! I promised I would watch your back and I don't intend to break that promise. You just stay alive and keep your promise of getting us out of here! I'll get us back to the Treehouse if it's the last thing I do." With that said, Marguerite shot up forcefully, ignoring the pain ripping through her body and the warm liquid oozing slowly out of her body and set out into the now pitch black jungle.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Like I said before, I don't own these characters.

"Marguerite's Struggle"

Chapter 3

While Marguerite set off through the jungle, alone and at night, things were quiet at the Treehouse. Veronica was setting the table for dinner when she heard a loud crash coming from the common room. Malone also heard the noise and came rushing out. Roxton was furiously filling his pack and doing it carelessly. The noise that had vibrated through the Treehouse was Roxton angrily slamming his rifle down on the table in frustration.

Veronica saw the vexed hunter and approached warily. "Roxton? Dinner's ready. Why don't you come and join us?" Roxton looked up at her with a scowl on his face that startled Veronica.

"I don't know why I listened to you! I should have gone out there looking for them this afternoon! I wasted precious time that I could have been using to find them! God help me if anything happened to them!" Roxton's frustration and guilt were emerging as anger and were being directed at Veronica. He ignored her and grabbed his pack and rifle and headed for the elevator. Veronica ran and cut him off. "Hold on a second, Roxton!"

Veronica immediately took a deep breath before speaking. "Roxton, calm down and keep your voice down. Summerlee's sleeping. I know you're worried and want to go look for them, but I'm sure they're fine. They probably fell behind a little bit and stopped to make camp. There's no reason to suspect otherwise. Besides, even if something did happen to them, it's already dark outside and you can't go stomping through the jungle at night. How are you going to help them if you go and get yourself killed? You know the dangers of the jungle, you're the one who made the rules regarding safety. Rule number one: Don't go into the jungle alone. Rule number two: Don't go into the jungle at night. You can't go out looking for them now, it's too dangerous." She looked up and saw that he was debating the issue and still wanted to go look for them. "You know I'm right. Look, I'll make you a deal. Tomorrow morning, if they haven't come back yet, you and Malone can go look for them while I look after Summerlee. Ok?"

Unable to argue with Veronica's logic, Roxton relented. He slammed his rifle down on the table and walked over to the balcony. "Fine! But first thing in the morning, I'm leaving so you better be ready Malone!"

Malone walked over to Roxton and patted him on the back and gave him a reassuring smile. "Come on Roxton, you know they'll be fine. If anyone can survive on this plateau it would be those two. With Challenger's genius and Marguerite's cunning and instinct for self-preservation, those two could survive anything." His small attempt to lighten the mood only got a faint smile from the hunter. Roxton walked over to a seat on the balcony feeling defeated and guilty. He sat and stared in the jungle, with little hope, that the two missing explorers would come bounding through the jungle any minute.

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It was nearing two in the morning and Marguerite was still journeying through the jungle towards the Treehouse. The last three miles of their journey was taking longer than she expected. Traveling through the dark night with no torch and dragging Challenger was no easy task. Unable to see where she was going, she constantly stumbled and fell. The strain of picking herself back up, along with Challenger, was draining the little strength she had left in her body. In a couple of hours, the sun would come up and she would have light but she still had about a mile and a half left before they could both get the help they desperately needed.

Marguerite, once again, tripped on a broken branch on the jungle floor, and came crashing to the ground. "Damn it! How am I supposed to get anywhere if I keep falling flat on my face! This is taking too long!" Marguerite slowly climbed to her feet and checked on Challenger. His wounds had started bleeding again but she had no bandages left and her clothes were already completely soaked in her own blood. She couldn't help Challenger right now. His only help lay at the Treehouse and it was up to her to make sure he got it. "I hate to say it Challenger, but you don't look too good. I have to get you to the Treehouse right away! Just hold on, George. Just a little bit longer. Don't prove me wrong."

Marguerite gathered her strength and took a deep breath. "Roxton will kill me when he finds out I traveled through the jungle at night, especially with no torch and no real chance to defend myself. Huh, I actually wish he was here to yell at me. Anything would beat the quiet of this jungle at night. Well, let's get moving. Oh don't bother getting up Challenger." With a last bit of humor to ease her nerves, Marguerite picked up the stretcher and pushed on to reach her destination.

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Dawn settled on the plateau and the two explorers had still not returned to the Treehouse. After keeping vigil on the balcony all night, Roxton got tired of waiting and was packed and ready to go before sunrise. He quickly grew impatient and burst into Malone's room and woke him up so they could set out on their rescue mission. "Malone! Hurry and get ready! I'm leaving in 5 minutes, with or without you!" shouted Roxton as he stormed into his room to get his hat and rifle.

He was pacing in the common room when Malone and Veronica came in. Veronica asked, "Do you want to get some breakfast before you go?"

Roxton practically shouted, "We've wasted enough time! Let's go Malone!" As he was heading to the elevator, he heard a gunshot. "Did you hear that?! That was a gunshot! I knew they were in trouble! Hurry, let's go Malone!" Roxton and Malone grabbed their weapons and packs and jumped into the elevator.

Traveling towards the sound of the shot, they heard two more shots. They arrived in time to see Marguerite shoot and kill the third and final raptor. At first glance, nobody would believe that the sight of the person in front of them was the beautiful Miss Krux. Her normally beautiful curly hair was highly disheveled and padded with leaves and clumps of mud. Her face had multiple cuts and bruises, along with her arms and chest, from traveling blind in the night and multiple tumbles to the ground. The beautiful white silk camisole she took so much pride in was soaked in blood along with her trousers. Her olive complexion was a ghostly white and her body was drenched in sweat and she was shaking from exhaustion. Her eyes were slightly dilated and could barely make out the two figures before her. It was taking all the strength she had left just to remain standing. She secured her pistol and walked over to the stretcher and joined Roxton and Malone.

Roxton's face immediately paled when he saw the state Marguerite was in. "Oh my God, Marguerite! What happened to you?! How badly are you hurt?!"

Marguerite saw the shocked and grief stricken looks on both Roxton and Malone's faces. She could barely speak since she hadn't had any water in at least two days butmanaged toanyway. She knew Challenger needed to be taken care of first so she did what she always did. She lied. "Thanks," she replied sarcastically, "but I've been a little busy and didn't have the time to take my usual morning bath." She saw that her little attempt at humor didn't relieve their worry, so she tried sincerity. "It's not as bad as it looks. Challenger is much worse off than I am. Hurry and get him to Summerlee. He's lost a lot of blood. He started bleeding again last night but I couldn't stop to stop the bleeding. We were attacked two days ago, I tried to get him here as fast as I could."

After Roxton and Malone made a crude bandage for Challenger, they prepared to leave. Reassured that Marguerite wasn't badly injured, he quickly took the lead. He turned his attention to getting their patient back to the Treehouse as quickly as possible. "Can you make it to the Treehouse?" Marguerite nodded. "Ok, Malone, you and I will each grab an end and, Marguerite, you walk next to us. Can you carry a rifle? Our hands will be full with Challenger and all this blood will surely attract more raptors." Marguerite nodded again. "Ok then, let's get moving."

The three explorers walked back the remaining half-mile to the Treehouse in a half-hour without any trouble. As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, they quickly yelled for Summerlee to come and help Challenger.

Summerlee who was still recovering, ran as quick as he could to the common room and was in shock with the sight of Challenger. The bandages on his chest were already soaked with blood and hadn't stopped bleeding. "Oh my goodness! Challenger! What happened?!"

Marguerite walked in and after assuring Summerlee she was fine, briefly told him about the attack two days ago and the extent of his chest injuries and how he regained consciousness once, despite his major concussion. Summerlee started examining Challenger and sent the rest of the explorers to get the supplies he needed.

While everyone was working on helping Challenger, Marguerite was standing in the corner and out of the way of the helping hands. Summerlee wanted her to go and rest, but she insisted on staying until Challenger was all right. After several hours, they had cleaned and treated his wounds and was left to rest. Challenger was officially in the clear and on the road to recovery.

In all this time, Marguerite had not budged from the doorway. After checking over Challenger's bandages one last time, Summerlee got up and noticed that Marguerite had still not moved from the doorway. "Are you all right, my dear?"

Marguerite sensed his concern and changed the subject to Challenger's condition. "I'm fine. Help Challenger." Luckily, his condition wasn't too bad thanks to Marguerite's quick thinking and care. Summerlee replied, "He lost a lot of blood, but with a little bed rest, he will recover and be back in his lab and his experiments."

She was gripping hardly on the doorway, so hard her knuckles were white and her hands had lost all feeling. She was leaning heavily on the doorway. In fact, it was the only thing keeping her from toppling over. Darkness was on the horizon and quickly approaching but she didn't want to let go until she was sure Challenger was fine. She had to make sure. "Summerlee, are you sure Challenger is going to be ok?"

"Yes, my dear, thanks to you. You saved his life. If he had stayed out there any longer, he might not have made it."

With Summerlee's news, Marguerite relaxed and loosened her death grip on the wood of the doorway. "That's good news...Marguerite Krux never...goes back...on her word." As soon as the last word left her mouth, she gave into the darkness and collapsed not hearing Summerlee's anguished cries...


	4. 4th and final chapter!

Disclaimer: As I said before, I don't own any of these characters.

Marguerite's Struggle

Chapter 4

"Marguerite!"

Summerlee ran over to Marguerite and saw her unconscious body lying in a pool of her own blood. He checked for a pulse and let out a sigh of relief when he found one. It was very weak, but at least she was alive. He tried to wake her up but he had no luck. _She was hurt this entire time? Why didn't she say something? She needed help and didn't tell us! My God! How could I not have known! She took such good care of me and Challenger and this is how she is repaid! She is left to slowly bleed to death and no one notices! How could I have let this happen! Quick, pull yourself together man! She needs your help!_ "ROXTON! HURRY, I NEED HELP IN HERE!"

Roxton heard Summerlee's cry and ran over to Challenger's room as quick as he could expecting Challenger's condition to be worse, not Marguerite's. "What is it! What's happened...!" As soon as he walked in and saw Marguerite on the floor, he stopped talking. She looked even worse than when he had seen her this morning. He quickly regained his senses. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to carry her to her room so I can help her." Roxton scooped her up and carried her to her room with Summerlee following behind. As Summerlee walked through the kitchen, he saw Veronica and Malone. "Veronica, Malone, I am going to need more supplies and bandages for Marguerite, and HURRY! She already has a high fever and is bleeding. I fear she has lost a lot of blood and developed an infection. I just hope we aren't too late to help her!"

Roxton, still oblivious to how badly Marguerite was hurt, laid her down on the bed and felt something warm on his arms. He looked down and saw that they were covered in Marguerite's blood. "Where the hell is this blood coming from!" He turned Marguerite onto her back and realized that the entire backside of her clothes were soaked through with blood from wounds of her own. Wounds that he never saw because she had never let him see her back. "Damn stubborn woman! Why the hell didn't she say something!" The reality of the situation quickly struck Roxton, along with worry and guilt, and he silently cursed at the stupidity of the woman lying before him.

Summerlee quickly washed his hands in the basin and made his way over to the bed. "She wanted to make sure Challenger was ok before we even considered looking at her. She knew he needed help and didn't want to distract us. When she makes a promise, she keeps it, even at the cost of her own life." The last bit was a whisper and Roxton barely heard the words leave his mouth. He felt just as badly as Summerlee for not realizing how hurt she was. _After all she went through, she still managed to protect Challenger. Not just from one raptor attack, but TWO! And then she lied and said she wasn't hurt and watched OUR backs while we got him back to the Treehouse. She went through so much, and with all that pain! She suffered so much and did it all alone. She should have told us! We would have helped her! We joke around with her like we did the other morning, but she knows we would help her, right? No matter how she acts, none of us would leave another person to die, even her._

While Roxton was thinking about Marguerite and how he underestimated her, Summerlee was trying to help her. "Quick, there's no time to lose! Help me get her clothes off." Roxton hesitated. "This is no time for modesty, John. She's DYING!" With those two words, Roxton helped Summerlee take off what was left of her camisole and pants. The sight the two were met with was not encouraging. The entire back side of her body was covered in blood. The little care Marguerite gave to her wounds was not enough. Her wounds were still bleeding and her condition was rapidly declining. Infection had already set into her wounds and her fever was raging. Summerlee was shocked at how bad her condition was. "Look at this infection! She is worse off than Challenger!"

Veronica and Malone ran in with all the things Summerlee asked for and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Marguerite. After the initial shock was over, Veronica spoke up first. "What happened to her?"

Summerlee explained, "She was also attacked by the raptors and didn't tell us."

"You mean she dragged him all those miles by herself with those wounds? How did she do it?" Veronica was shocked that she didn't leave him there to die and care for her own wounds instead of helping Challenger first. "By the look of those wounds, she lost enough blood to have passed out hours ago."

Summerlee was slowly losing his self-control. "Her determination alone was what got her here. She promised to protect him and she did it. She used all of the supplies on George, including the poultice, which would explain her infection. Since her injuries were on the backside of her body, she couldn't reach them. She couldn't clean them, stitch them, or even properly bandage them. Challenger was unconscious so he couldn't help her. She tended to all of his wounds before her own. The only thing she did for herself was tie up the rest of her blouse as a make-shift bandage. She ignored her own pain and got him back to the Treehouse like she said she would! Then, she still didn't ask for help and stood right in front of our eyes slowly dying! Does that answer your questions!"

Everyone was shocked at his tone and realized how concerned he was for Marguerite. They all stopped talking and set to work trying to help the one person who really needed it and the one they all doubted.

"I guess I was completely wrong about her" Veronica mumbled.

Roxton heard her and answered, "We all were." He turned to Summerlee, "What else can we do?"

"We can talk later. Right now, we have to keep her wounds free of infection. Malone, can you go make some Willow Bark Tea? Roxton, keep a cold compress on her forehead. Her fever is still dangerously high. Veronica, you and I have to clean and stitch the worst of her wounds first. And don't forget the poultice."

As everyone set to work, Roxton was again turned to Summerlee. "Do you think she'll make it?"

Summerlee shook his head. "I don't know, I hope so. I truly hope so."

After several hours, all of Marguerite's wounds had stopped bleeding and were properly cleaned and bandaged. The only problem left was her fever and the fact that she was still unconscious.

"What do you think, Summerlee? Is she going to pull through?" Roxton asked.

"She might, she is on of the strongest woman I've ever seen. If anyone can survive this, she can. All we can do now is to keep her wounds clean and make sure she's comfortable. She needs a lot of rest."

"But what about her fever?" Veronica asked.

"It's not as high as it was last night. It's a good thing we caught the signs of dehydration and got fluids into her. Right now, the fever is showing that her body is fighting off the infection, it's a good thing. We'll worry if it starts to go back up."

CRASH!

Everyone heard the crash but Malone spoke up first. "What was that! Sounded like it came from Challenger's room."

Everyone got up and ran to Challenger's room. Veronica got there first and saw a broken pitcher next to the bed along with Challenger. "What happened? Challenger? You're awake! Are you ok?"

Everyone else came running in and saw that Challenger was awake and in the first stages of recovery. Everyone let out a sigh of relief to see Challenger had finally regained consciousness. Roxton and Veronica helped Challenger get back into bed while Summerlee checked his bandages to make sure he didn't break open his stitches.

"Are you sure you're ok, Challenger?" asked Malone as he handed Challenger a cup of water.

"I'm in a considerable amount of pain, but at least I'm alive, thanks to Marguerite."

Veronica was still skeptical that Marguerite would help Challenger when it wasn't in her best interest. "How did you two get attacked? We never really heard the whole story from Marguerite."

"Well, we were about a day's journey away from the Treehouse. We had traveled 6 miles before it was midday. We were making excellent time because Marguerite was excited to find this new mineral after I told her I could use it to get us off the plateau..."

Malone interrupted, "That sounds like Marguerite." That got a little laugh until they remembered her condition.

Summerlee cleared his throat and let Challenger continue. "Yes, well, I fell a little behind, I'm not as young as I used to be. As I was catching up to Marguerite, a raptor jumped out onto the trail and attacked me. Before I knew what happened, it was digging its claws into my chest and I thought I was going to die. I heard Marguerite shout my name, then a shot, and then nothing. I remember regaining consciousness a couple times. One time was near sunset when Marguerite was cleaning my wounds, and then another time it was dark and all I could see was moving trees, but I don't really remember, I wasn't really oriented at the time."

Summerlee started shooing everyone out of the room so Challenger could rest. "Well, now that you're safe, we will leave you to rest."

Challenger noticed that out of everyone in his room, that one person he really wanted to see was not there. "Where's Marguerite? I wanted to thank her."

Summerlee spoke up before anyone could say anything about her condition. "She's sleeping. She's exhausted from dragging your foolish hide all over the plateau. You need to rest. Let's leave him to it." They all wished Challenger well and left him to rest.

Malone's curiosity was peaked and he was ready to burst. "Why didn't you tell him about Marguerite?"

"He lost consciousness before Marguerite got hurt, so he doesn't know. There's no point in worrying him when we are not sure about her condition. The only thing we can do now is pray for Marguerite's recovery."

After a couple of days, Challenger was better and was well enough to leave his room. The first thing he did was go see Marguerite. After a while, he began to get suspicious about Marguerite's absence and they were forced to tell him. It had been three days since Marguerite got both of them to the Treehouse and she still hadn't regained consciousness. She was slowly regaining her color and her fever had broken two days ago. Her body was still exhausted from the long journey and the blood loss.

Everyone, except Challenger, was in the kitchen and getting ready for breakfast. Malone sat down at the table and asked, "Where's Challenger?"

Veronica walked over and joined him. "He's sitting with Marguerite. He feels guilty that she got hurt saving him and that it was his idea to go on the trip to begin with. He wants to be there when she wakes up so he can thank her."

Everyone felt guilty about how they treated Marguerite but Roxton put it into words. "I think we owe her an apology when she wakes up. She went above and beyond our expectations of her."

Summerlee heard their conversation and started to get angry. "I think you owe her more than that. She went through all of that and you still doubted her! She's saved our lives many times since we were stranded here and yet you still didn't believe in her! She had to go through all of this to prove to you that she wouldn't betray us! Not at the cost of her life! Do you have any idea of what she had to go through to get her and Challenger home alive! Do you! How much pain she had to have been in! How much she had to have been suffering! She didn't give a damn about herself, only Challenger! She gave up on herself and just concentrated on keeping her stupid promise!"

They were all in shock at Summerlee's tone and even more surprised when he broke down and started crying. They could see how much he had grown to care for Marguerite and how bad he felt that Marguerite got hurt.

"She traveled through the night in the jungle all by herself. She faced raptors twice, all by herself. All of this while she was bleeding to death! We didn't even notice! I didn't notice! We left her to slowly die in front of our eyes and let her think we don't care!"

Veronica tried to console Summerlee. "She knows you care, none of this was your fault. We needed to help Challenger and she knew it. You know once Marguerite makes up her mind about something, you can't change it. This is what she wanted. Besides, it all worked out in the end. She's going to be fine, ok?" Summerlee slowly regained his composure and everyone sat down to breakfast forgetting Summerlee's earlier outburst.

"SUMMERLEE! SUMMERLEE! HURRY, SHE'S WAKING UP!"

Everyone dropped everything when they heard Challenger's shouts and ran over to Marguerite's room.

Marguerite's eyes fluttered opened and she slowly regained her senses. The first thing she realized was she was in a lot of pain. She stifled a scream that came out as a low groan. She could barely keep her eyes open because she was so tired. She knew there were people in her room but couldn't make out their faces because her vision was fuzzy. She grew suspicious that no one was saying anything. _Why are they so quiet? Why aren't they saying anything? Oh my God, Challenger! I must not have gotten him back in time. But Summerlee said he was going to be ok! Damn it! I tried so hard! That's why they aren't talking to me! They blame me for Challenger's death! They think I let him die! _"I tried to get him back here as fast I could. I did the best I could but I'm not Summerlee! Honestly, I didn't leave him there to die! I'm sorry Challenger, I should have tried harder!" Marguerite moved to get up but screamed in pain. Challenger was next to her and tried to calm her down.

"Marguerite! Marguerite! I'm here, I'm fine! Look, I'm alive! And I have you to thank for it! They told me how you saved me and how much great care you gave me and all you went through to get us back. I wanted to be here when you woke to tell you how much I appreciate it, I'm eternally grateful."

Marguerite was still in shock to find out Challenger was indeed alive, and not to mention pain, and couldn't speak.

Roxton decided to lighten the mood, "What's the matter, Marguerite? Cat got your tongue? We all thought you would be milking this for all it's worth."

Marguerite looked up and saw the huge grin plastered on Roxton's face. Marguerite's face grew a similar smile. "Of course, what did you expect? No good deed goes unrewarded. As long as I'm stuck in bed, I expect to be waited on hand and foot."

Malone chuckled, "As you wish, your Majesty. I'm glad to see you're ok, Marguerite. I'm going to make sure all of this goes in my journal for my readers back home! You're a hero!"

Marguerite's smile immediately faded. "Now I don't know about that Malone. It's really not a big deal. No need to go through all that trouble."

"Don't be ridiculous. The infamous Miss Krux playing hero is something my readers will want to read about. I think I'm going to get started right now. Again, it's great to see you're feeling better. Get some rest."

"Thanks, Malone." Malone smiled and walked out.

Veronica handed Marguerite a cup of waterwith a warm smile. "Yeah, we're glad to see you're back and feeling better. If you need anything, let me know. We'll just leave you to rest." Veronica and Roxton got up to walk out. "Yeah, now you actually have an excuse to stay in bed all day."

"I heard that Roxton!" Roxton chuckled and lef with Veronica leaving Summerlee to take care of his patient.

Summerlee handed Marguerite a cup of tea. "Here Marguerite. Drink this."

As she was drinking the tea, she looked up and saw there were tears in his eyes and tried to cheer him up. "Looks like we've switched places Arthur. You make a much better Florence Nightingale than I do."

A tear escaped Summerlee's eyes. "Don't you ever do that again! You gave me quite a scare. What were you thinking? You almost died! Why didn't you take better care of yourself? Why didn't you tell me how badly you were hurt?"

"Challenger's wounds were worse than mine. I knew I had to get us back. Who else was going to do it! I did what I had to do!" Marguerite winced in pain. "Besides, I made a promise."

"But not at the cost of your life!"

"What? You would rather me have left Challenger to die? There was no other way. Besides, you put so much faith in me, I didn't want to disappoint you."

"You could never disappoint me, my dear. In fact, I'm very proud of you." Summerlee wiped away another tear and got up. "You need to rest. You should go to sleep."

"Thank you, Arthur."

In another week, Marguerite had almost fully recovered. She was finally allowed to leave her room but couldn't walk because her wounds hadn't completely healed yet. If she needed to go someplace, Malone or Roxton were her modes of transportation.

Marguerite was sitting on the sofa reading a book when Veronica came in with a cup of tea. "Here's your tea Marguerite."

"Thank you, Veronica."

"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry again for doubting you. I'm glad you proved me wrong."

Marguerite was uncomfortable with this unusual show of affection so she quickly changed the mood. "You bet I did! I'm always right, and don't you forget it!" Veronica flashed a knowing smile and walked away. Marguerite heard someone laugh and looked over her shoulder to see Roxton.

"Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor, Marguerite. Is there anything our resident heroine needs?" Marguerite shook her head. "Well, how would you like to join me on the balcony?" Marguerite considered the gesture which was out of character for Roxton and then agreed. Roxton picked her up and placed her down on the chair next to his on the balcony. She looked up and saw him staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just, since we have arrived here, you have yet to cease to amaze me. First I saw a strong woman with ambition and a strong desire for jewels, then Iwas proved wrong with Summerlee. It's obvious he cares for you. Challenger said he might not have made it if it wasn't for your care. Whatever you said to him, helped him get through the pain. Then all of this happens. I was right when I said you were a woman of fire and steel. Any other person wouldn't have been able to go through all of that and still survive and get Challenger and yourself back alive. Only you, Marguerite. My admiration for you keeps growing. I wonder just how much more there is about you that will surprise me."

"Looks like it's my job to keep the 'Great White Hunter' on his toes. Wouldn't want your reflexes to get rusty."

"I'm sure you'll relish the opportunity to shock me and be really good at it. So how is Challenger planning to pay you back for this unusual selfless act?"

"I told him he didn't have to do anything but he insisted. So the next time we go out to get his mineral, we're going to stay an extra day so I can look at this new rock formation for gems. It looks very promising."

Roxton smiled at Marguerite's predictability. "Maybe I'll come with you." Marguerite looked up with a quizzical look on her face. "You know, for protection. Who's going to watch your back if you're too busy watching Challenger's? Wouldn't want our expedition's benefactress to meet an untimely demise."

Marguerite was angry because she believed that Roxton thought that if he didn't come along, recent events would repeat themselves. "Believe it or not, but I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Lord Roxton."

Roxton saw where this conversation was headed and stopped it before it got out of hand. "I know, I know. I think you already proved you can handle anything this plateau throws at you. But we're all in this together. We all have to stick together. You don't have to be alone. You can trust us. One of us will always be there to watch your back, just like we know you would for us."

Marguerite looked at Roxton and saw the sincerity of his words, but didn't answer. She let all this new information sink in and turned back around to stare into the jungle and finish her tea.

THE END

A/N: What did ya think? Reviews are always welcomed! I need reviews! Thanks to everyone who read my story and a great big thanks to everyone who reviewed!


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